Sound and music is heard in a humans life on a regular basis, and its not just the same sound it is thousands of different sounds. Daily, many people ask themselves what a sound wave is; however, many stand clueless and never conclude the precise answer. Most people over think what a sound wave is or could be and do not know that it is simply a vibration. In fact, that is exactly what it is: a simple vibration of air molecules shaking the atmosphere. One can simple test this simple theory by holding his or her hand on their throat then talking; feel the vibration? This vibration is as simple as it seems, a sound wave. The questions remaining are, why do deaf individuals not hear music or even a meek sound wave? Can a single sound wave make music? Music is heard every single day, every sound wave has a unique characteristic that makes it special. When music is played a sound wave was produced. When a piano is being played, the strings being tapped makes a vibration, making a sound. When you blow into a trumpet your vibrating the mouth piece which produces a sound of music. A vibration is not something that originates in a quick second; it takes time for it to move side to side. Anything you partake in that causes a vibration can be classified as a sound that produces a wave. Sounds come in many different shapes and forms. They travel distinctively through matter and liquid. They travel the fastest in the matter of steel. Sound is a normal mechanical vibration that moves through solids in a wave.
Scientist and Discoveries
A large number of scientists’ have discovered convinced things about sound waves. Galileo was one of the first ones to[1]discover not only a pitch, but also a frequency of sound waves. Leonardo da Vinci discovered that sound travels in waves, which is relatively similar, but not quite so. Martin Mersenne was the first scientist to measure the speed of sound. Robert Boyle discovered that a medium is what a sound wave travels in. Christian Doppler also later discovered that sound waves could be compacted or even expanded, which, further expanding on da Vinci’s theory. Sound waves have been thought about many times in different ways. There are many different theories that scientist came up with over the years after da Vinci.
Vocabulary
Frequency- The time per unit it takes an object to repeat itself
Wavelength- Distance at which the wave shape repeats itself
Velocity- Rate and direction of change in an objects position
Amplitude- Fullness and magnitude of a sound wave
Forced Vibration- An object that forces another object to vibrate
Natural Frequency- An object that has an natural vibrate once in motion
Doppler Effect- When a source of waves is moving towards the observer. "Frequency shift"
Many people do not know that sound is more than just a wave. A sound wave has different characteristics not just a simple sound, it has depth. Sound has wavelength, frequency, speed/velocity and amplitude. Wavelength is the length horizontally between the crest’ of the wave. This distance can be a short or long distance depending on the wave size and length. The wavelength is also expressed as the compression between the wave. Calculating the distance between crests is simple, just count the crest and each second they pass and you can calculate the horizontal distance. Frequency is used in many tools and is also very important for sound waves. Frequency is time that a wave passes at a certain time. A complete wave per second is frequency during a sound wave.[2] Frequency is measured in hertz(Hz). Determining one sound wave from another allows frequency to do its job. A formula to find the frequency of a wavelength is to divide one by the period. Long wavelengths have low frequencies and the short frequencies have high frequencies. This is really important because the human ear, a receiver, can only respond to frequencies as well as responding to high frequencies faster. Another characteristic a speed wave has is speed/velocity. Depending on the temperature in the air determines how fast a sound wave will travel. If a sound wave travels at room temperature it will travel about three hundred and forty four meters per second. This is very fast, that is why we hear things either slower or faster. It also travels just about four times faster in liquid or water. Notice that drop of a water in a pool of water has ripples, this shows the speed of sound in the water and how fast it is traveling. A formula to calculate wave speed is to multiply wavelength by the frequency, which in turn equals wave speed. Last but not least there is amplitude, it as well as the others plays an important roll in the characteristics of a sound wave. Amplitude acts with how much a sound wave is being compressed, also how much energy is in each sound wave. Amplitude is the distance from the middle of the wave to the top of the wave, tht measures the width of the wave, which is called a crest. “ The amplitude equals the maximum displacement from equilibrium”, [3] . Sounds can differ in the amount of energy that a sound wave has.
Traveling Sound
“Sound is energy that travels to our ears in the form of one kind of wave”,[4] Sound waves can travel through air and liquids, but the most common being through the air. Sound does not travel in space, and can not travel through a vacuum.This is because there is not enough matter in the air for a sound wave to move. In other words the air molecules are not close together enough. For sound waves to travel through the air, air molecules have to shake and be close enough to shake. If they shake then they are traveling through the air trying to find a receiver to connect to. When a wave moves it has a specific place that it is going.
Essential Tools
To make sound waves complete there are three tools that have to be used, source, medium and receiver. Something that vibrates is the source of all sound. To cause something to hit something else and make an abrupt vibration is the make up of a sound. Next tool that is critical to a sound wave is a medium. When a sound wave travels it has to travel within a medium. A medium is what receives the sound takes it and protects it when it is carried to the receiver. A sound wave completely depends on a medium to help it move the way it moves. Depending on how dense the medium is will determine the distance, move and the speed of the sound wave. If the medium is at a higher density level then the sound will travel slower through it. A medium is something a sound wave must have in order for it to be complete. Last but not least, the receiver. A receiver of sound has to play an essential role in daily life. A receiver if there is not a receiver then there is no possible way that a sound can be heard. The most common receiver of sound would be the human ear. The sound wave travels through the air until it reaches a certain receiver that it is seeking for. The more dense the medium is, the faster it will travel to the place it is looking to go.
Energy
Two kinds of sounds that can be compared are a very nice, calming noise and a obnoxious sound that is off tune. When a soft pleasant sound is heard, the wave is very mellow and flow together in a soft motion. Usually when this sound occurs the pattern is continuous, and has the same shape every time it moves up and down. When a hurtful to the ears sound is heard, it has a very uneven wave. This uneven wave is very up and down and more sharp curved then soft curved. It also does not have the same pattern repeating itself, it will have a different shape every single time the crest goes up and down. This is kind of similar to the way that frequency works, the higher the frequency the closer together the waves are together. If the frequency is lower the wave is more spread out. Something that can be contrasted is how intense the sound is and how loud the sound is. Most of the time the two get mixed up or confused and they are different. Even though they may look the same, in actuality they are not alike. How much energy a sound wave acquires is the sound waves intensity. The more energy the higher the intensity shall be, along with the lower, if the energy is at a lower level then the intensity will be lower. The loudness of a sound wave is the depending on the increasing of the intensity and at times the period of time that the wave occurs. “Increasing the intensity causes an increase in loudness but not in a direct proportion,” [2]. Energy is very critical to sound waves as well. Believe it or not, every vibration or sound that is made has to have energy to make it function. When a sound is being heard, energy is being exerted. When a sound wave goes away or stop it doesn’t mean the energy is gone, it means that the sound’s intensity has decreased but the energy is still present. The greater energy is present in the sound wave the greater the sound is. Energy is not conserved, therefor when it used used in the sound it continues to travel even when the sound is not heard. When energy is thought of the intensity needs to be taken into consideration as well.
Sound VS. Light
An object that can be compared to sound waves is light waves. “This is a general wave relationship which applies to sound and light waves, other electromagnetic waves, and waves in mechanical media”(Wave relationship).The difference between them is the light is coming from a light bulb or the sun that produces a wave that reflects off of our eyeballs, a mirror, or even a reflecting object. “Another difference between light and sound waves is that sound waves travel at a different velocity. Sound waves travel through air at the speed of approximately 1,100 feet per second; light waves travel through air and empty space at a speed of approximately 186,000 miles per second. Although both are forms of wave motion, sound requires a solid, liquid, or gaseous medium; whereas light travels through empty space. The opposite is true of light. Unlike sound waves, light waves can not travel in material. As well as, sound travels up to one-third faster than light travels thought water. Frequency affects both sound and light. A certain range of sound frequencies produces sensations that you can hear. A slow vibration (low frequency) in sound gives the sensation of a low note. A more rapid sound vibration (higher frequency) produces a higher note. Likewise, a certain range of light frequencies produces sensations that you can see. Violet light is produced at the high-frequency end of the light spectrum, while red light is produced at the low-frequency end of the light spectrum. A change in frequency of sound waves causes an audible sensation—a difference in pitch. A change in the frequency of a light wave causes a visual sensation—a difference in color” (Comparison of light and sound waves).
Natural Frequency, Forced Vibrations, and Resonance
Natural frequency is a frequency that all instruments are set to vibrate at. When a simple sound is heard and a sound wave is produced it is heard at its natural frequency. A tuning fork can change the way that a frequency sounds, as well as hitting the objects many times to get a higher frequency. The amount of energy that one exerts on the object to make it sound will set its natural frequency. A natural frequency is very defined than the other frequencies. It is the most common of all of the frequencies heard.
Forced vibrations is the opposite of the natural frequency. This method is one object “forcing” another object to vibrate. For an example, if one string on a musical instrument is plucked, the string is forced to move the air molecules around it causing the string to vibrate. Forced vibrations are very common as well as natural frequency. A connection of natural frequency and forced vibrations can cause a resonance. Resonance is a main principle of sound as well. When one selected item vibrating at the exact same natural frequency of another object forces that second object into vibrational motion. It is the natural vibration of a frequency that is given off. “It is much easier to keep a resonant frequency going then to get it vibrating at another frequency.”(Resonance). For an example, if your body has a lot of energy, you have more trouble trying to stop being energetic than keep on going with your bodies feelings. Resonance explains mostly about the frequency that are easier repeated. Another example would be a child on a swing, resonance takes place as the natural swing frequency. Each time that you put a force on the swing you are building the amplitudes structure. A swing is just like a pendulum. The opposite frequency would be tying to stop the swing as it came back. It would be much hard to use twice frequency to stop the moving frequency. The end product of a resonance is a huge amount of vibrations.
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect also deals with sound. The Doppler Effect is a frequency of the wave and the observer relative to the motion of the sound wave.
When the observer is hearing a siren coming toward them then hear it closer as the wave is being emitted to the observer. The waves are a reduced until the siren arrives directly by the observer. The successive wave is being reduced makes the waves have to travel at a longer distance. The waves spread out further when the successive of the energy wave is increased. Depending on the velocity of the observer will intend to the way that the observer hears the siren sounds, as well as the relative motion. The Doppler Effect explains much of life and how we hear ambulance's different sounds.
Interference and Standing waves
Sounds can have interference. The two kinds of interference is destructive and constructive interference. When a compression of one wave overlaps the rare fractions of another it makes a deconstructive interference that is out of tune. Constructive interference is when compressions overlap in phase. The amplitudes will add up to be an interference. Most of the time when a constructive interference is drawn the waves amplitude will grow in the same direction, opposed to that the destructive amplitude will have opposite directions which will cancel out the sound. For an example, if two speakers are facing the same direction the sound will be louder that would be constructive interference. Destructive interference would be when the two speakers were facing each other and gradually pushing them toward each other will make the sound very faint or even cancel it out. “Interference of incident and reflected waves is essential to the production of resonant standing waves.” (Interference of sound)
A standing wave is also known as a stationary wave. A wave that stays in the same spot consistently. Standing waves are formed when two waves of similar frequencies interfere with one another when moving in different directions along the same medium. These wave patterns are characterized by precise points which have no displacement. These points of no displacement can also be called nodes. “The nodal positions are labeled by an N in the animation above. The nodes are always located at the same location along the medium.” [5] Between each node there are more points that are called anti-nodes, they are labeled as AN. “Anti-nodes are points along the medium which oscillate back and forth between a large positive displacement and a large negative displacement.” [6] .
Music and Answers
Music is made from sound waves. It is the art of sound,[7] . Music is produced from and sound wave and its characteristics all put together. The varieties of tone and pitch that music has depends on the sound wave and how the sound wave is produced. Music can be a beautiful or an awful thing. If the sound wave is at a higher frequency then the sound of the music will be at a higher pitch. Music is very beautiful in many different ways. Music is also very much like math.
To answer many unanswered questions, yes, a sound wave does make music. There are many aspects and structures to the way that it is produced, which is any vibrating object. The reason that deaf individuals do not hear a meek sound or even a sound wave is because they do not have the complete package of a sound wave, they do not have the receiver. The world would be a lot different if we had no sound or sound wave in all actuality.
Table of Contents
Sound Waves and Music
Sound and music is heard in a humans life on a regular basis, and its not just the same sound it is thousands of different sounds. Daily, many people ask themselves what a sound wave is; however, many stand clueless and never conclude the precise answer. Most people over think what a sound wave is or could be and do not know that it is simply a vibration. In fact, that is exactly what it is: a simple vibration of air molecules shaking the atmosphere. One can simple test this simple theory by holding his or her hand on their throat then talking; feel the vibration? This vibration is as simple as it seems, a sound wave. The questions remaining are, why do deaf individuals not hear music or even a meek sound wave? Can a single sound wave make music? Music is heard every single day, every sound wave has a unique characteristic that makes it special. When music is played a sound wave was produced. When a piano is being played, the strings being tapped makes a vibration, making a sound. When you blow into a trumpet your vibrating the mouth piece which produces a sound of music. A vibration is not something that originates in a quick second; it takes time for it to move side to side. Anything you partake in that causes a vibration can be classified as a sound that produces a wave. Sounds come in many different shapes and forms. They travel distinctively through matter and liquid. They travel the fastest in the matter of steel. Sound is a normal mechanical vibration that moves through solids in a wave.
Scientist and Discoveries
A large number of scientists’ have discovered convinced things about sound waves. Galileo was one of the first ones to[1] discover not only a pitch, but also a frequency of sound waves. Leonardo da Vinci discovered that sound travels in waves, which is relatively similar, but not quite so. Martin Mersenne was the first scientist to measure the speed of sound. Robert Boyle discovered that a medium is what a sound wave travels in. Christian Doppler also later discovered that sound waves could be compacted or even expanded, which, further expanding on da Vinci’s theory. Sound waves have been thought about many times in different ways. There are many different theories that scientist came up with over the years after da Vinci.
Vocabulary
Frequency- The time per unit it takes an object to repeat itself
Wavelength- Distance at which the wave shape repeats itself
Velocity- Rate and direction of change in an objects position
Amplitude- Fullness and magnitude of a sound wave
Forced Vibration- An object that forces another object to vibrate
Natural Frequency- An object that has an natural vibrate once in motion
Doppler Effect- When a source of waves is moving towards the observer. "Frequency shift"
GoAnimate.com: Sound waves by hrcarter
Frequency, Wavelength, Amplitude, and Velocity
Many people do not know that sound is more than just a wave. A sound wave has different characteristics not just a simple sound, it has depth. Sound has wavelength, frequency, speed/velocity and amplitude. Wavelength is the length horizontally between the crest’ of the wave. This distance can be a short or long distance depending on the wave size and length. The wavelength is also expressed as the compression between the wave. Calculating the distance between crests is simple, just count the crest and each second they pass and you can calculate the horizontal distance. Frequency is used in many tools and is also very important for sound waves. Frequency is time that a wave passes at a certain time. A complete wave per second is frequency during a sound wave.[2] Frequency is measured in hertz(Hz). Determining one sound wave from another allows frequency to do its job. A formula to find the frequency of a wavelength is to divide one by the period. Long wavelengths have low frequencies and the short frequencies have high frequencies. This is really important because the human ear, a receiver, can only respond to frequencies as well as responding to high frequencies faster. Another characteristic a speed wave has is speed/velocity. Depending on the temperature in the air determines how fast a sound wave will travel. If a sound wave travels at room temperature it will travel about three hundred and forty four meters per second. This is very fast, that is why we hear things either slower or faster. It also travels just about four times faster in liquid or water. Notice that drop of a water in a pool of water has ripples, this shows the speed of sound in the water and how fast it is traveling. A formula to calculate wave speed is to multiply wavelength by the frequency, which in turn equals wave speed. Last but not least there is amplitude, it as well as the others plays an important roll in the characteristics of a sound wave. Amplitude acts with how much a sound wave is being compressed, also how much energy is in each sound wave. Amplitude is the distance from the middle of the wave to the top of the wave, tht measures the width of the wave, which is called a crest. “ The amplitude equals the maximum displacement from equilibrium”, [3] . Sounds can differ in the amount of energy that a sound wave has.
Traveling Sound
“Sound is energy that travels to our ears in the form of one kind of wave”,[4] Sound waves can travel through air and liquids, but the most common being through
Essential Tools
To make sound waves complete there are three tools that have to be used, source, medium and receiver. Something that vibrates is the source of all sound. To cause something to hit something else and make an abrupt vibration is the make up of a sound. Next tool that is critical to a sound wave is a medium. When a sound wave travels it has to travel within a medium. A medium is what receives the sound takes it and protects it when it is carried to the receiver. A sound wave completely depends on a medium to help it move the way it moves. Depending on how dense the medium is will determine the distance, move and the speed of the sound wave. If the medium is at a higher density level then the sound will travel slower through it. A medium is something a sound wave must have in order for it to be complete. Last but not least, the receiver. A receiver of sound has to play an essential role in daily life. A receiver if there is not a receiver then there is no possible way that a sound can be heard. The most common receiver of sound would be the human ear. The sound wave travels through the air until it reaches a certain receiver that it is seeking for. The more dense the medium is, the faster it will travel to the place it is looking to go.
Energy
Two kinds of sounds that can be compared are a very nice, calming noise and a obnoxious sound that is off tune. When a soft pleasant sound is heard, the wave is very mellow and flow together in a soft motion. Usually when this sound occurs the pattern is continuous, and has the same shape every time it moves up and down. When a hurtful to the ears sound is heard, it has a very uneven wave. This uneven wave is very up and down and more sharp curved then soft curved. It also does not have the same pattern repeating itself, it will have a different shape every single time the crest goes up and down. This is kind of similar to the way that frequency works, the higher the frequency the closer together the waves are together. If the frequency is lower the wave is more spread out. Something that can be contrasted is how intense the sound is and how loud the sound is. Most of the time the two get mixed up or confused and they are different. Even though they may look the same, in actuality they are not alike. How much energy a sound wave acquires is the sound waves intensity. The more energy the higher the intensity shall be, along with the lower, if the energy is at a lower level then the intensity will be lower. The loudness of a sound wave is the depending on the increasing of the intensity and at times the period of time that the wave occurs. “Increasing the intensity causes an increase in loudness but not in a direct proportion,” [2]. Energy is very critical to sound waves as well. Believe it or not, every vibration or sound that is made has to have energy to make it function. When a sound is being heard, energy is being exerted. When a sound wave goes away or stop it doesn’t mean the energy is gone, it means that the sound’s intensity has decreased but the energy is still present. The greater energy is present in the sound wave the greater the sound is. Energy is not conserved, therefor when it used used in the sound it continues to travel even when the sound is not heard. When energy is thought of the intensity needs to be taken into consideration as well.
Sound VS. Light
An object that can be compared to sound waves is light waves. “This is a general wave relationship which applies to sound and light waves, other electromagnetic waves, and waves in mechanical media”(Wave relationship).The difference between them is the light is coming from a light bulb or the sun that produces a wave that reflects off of our eyeballs, a mirror, or even a reflecting object. “Another difference between light and sound waves is that sound waves travel at a different velocity. Sound waves travel through air at the speed of approximately 1,100 feet per second; light waves travel through air and empty space at a speed of approximately 186,000 miles per second. Although both are forms of wave motion, sound requires a solid, liquid, or gaseous medium; whereas light travels through empty space. The opposite is true of light. Unlike sound waves, light waves can not travel in material. As well as, sound travels up to one-third faster than light travels thought water. Frequency affects both sound and light. A certain range of sound frequencies produces sensations that you can hear. A slow vibration (low frequency) in sound gives the sensation of a low note. A more rapid sound vibration (higher frequency) produces a higher note. Likewise, a certain range of light frequencies produces sensations that you can see. Violet light is produced at the high-frequency end of the light spectrum, while red light is produced at the low-frequency end of the light spectrum. A change in frequency of sound waves causes an audible sensation—a difference in pitch. A change in the frequency of a light wave causes a visual sensation—a difference in color” (Comparison of light and sound waves).
Natural Frequency, Forced Vibrations, and Resonance
Natural frequency is a frequency that all instruments are set to vibrate at. When a simple sound is heard and a sound wave is produced it is heard at its natural frequency. A tuning fork can change the way that a frequency sounds, as well as hitting the objects many times to get a higher frequency. The amount of energy that one exerts on the object to make it sound will set its natural frequency. A natural frequency is very defined than the other frequencies. It is the most common of all of the frequencies heard.
Forced vibrations is the opposite of the natural frequency. This method is one object “forcing” another object to vibrate. For an example, if one string on a musical instrument is plucked, the string is forced to move the air molecules around it causing the string to vibrate. Forced vibrations are very common as well as natural frequency. A connection of natural frequency and forced vibrations can cause a resonance.
Resonance is a main principle of sound as well. When one selected item vibrating at the exact same natural frequency of another object forces that second object into vibrational motion. It is the natural vibration of a frequency that is given off. “It is much easier to keep a resonant frequency going then to get it vibrating at another frequency.”(Resonance). For an example, if your body has a lot of energy, you have more trouble trying to stop being energetic than keep on going with your bodies feelings. Resonance explains mostly about the frequency that are easier repeated. Another example would be a child on a swing, resonance takes place as the natural swing frequency. Each time that you put a force on the swing you are building the amplitudes structure. A swing is just like a pendulum. The opposite frequency would be tying to stop the swing as it came back. It would be much hard to use twice frequency to stop the moving frequency. The end product of a resonance is a huge amount of vibrations.
The Doppler Effect
The Doppler Effect also deals with sound. The Doppler Effect is a frequency of the wave and the observer relative to the motion of the sound wave.
When the observer is hearing a siren coming toward them then hear it closer as the wave is being emitted to the observer. The waves are a reduced until the siren arrives directly by the observer. The successive wave is being reduced makes the waves have to travel at a longer distance. The waves spread out further when the successive of the energy wave is increased. Depending on the velocity of the observer will intend to the way that the observer hears the siren sounds, as well as the relative motion. The Doppler Effect explains much of life and how we hear ambulance's different sounds.
Interference and Standing waves
Sounds can have interference. The two kinds of interference is destructive and constructive interference. When a compression of one wave overlaps the rare fractions of another it makes a deconstructive interference that is out of tune. Constructive interference is when compressions overlap in phase. The amplitudes will add up to be an interference. Most of the time when a constructive interference is drawn the waves amplitude will grow in the same direction, opposed to that the destructive amplitude will have opposite directions which will cancel out the sound. For an example, if two speakers are facing the same direction the sound will be louder that would be constructive interference. Destructive interference would be when the two speakers were facing each other and gradually pushing them toward each other will make the sound very faint or even cancel it out. “Interference of incident and reflected waves is essential to the production of resonant standing waves.” (Interference of sound)
A standing wave is also known as a stationary wave. A wave that stays in the same spot consistently. Standing waves are formed when two waves of similar frequencies interfere with one another when moving in different directions along the same medium. These wave patterns are characterized by precise points which have no displacement. These points of no displacement can also be called nodes. “The nodal positions are labeled by an N in the animation above. The nodes are always located at the same location along the medium.” [5]
Between each node there are more points that are called anti-nodes, they are labeled as AN. “Anti-nodes are points along the medium which oscillate back and forth between a large positive displacement and a large negative displacement.” [6] .
Music and Answers
Music is made from sound waves. It is the art of sound,[7] . Music is produced from and sound wave and its characteristics all put together. The varieties of tone and pitch that music has depends on the sound wave and how the sound wave is produced. Music can be a beautiful or an awful thing. If the sound wave is at a higher frequency then the sound of the music will be at a higher pitch. Music is very beautiful in many different ways. Music is also very much like math.
To answer many unanswered questions, yes, a sound wave does make music. There are many aspects and structures to the way that it is produced, which is any vibrating object. The reason that deaf individuals do not hear a meek sound or even a sound wave is because they do not have the complete package of a sound wave, they do not have the receiver. The world would be a lot different if we had no sound or sound wave in all actuality.
*Resources*
http://www.stmary.ws/highschool/physics/sound_1.htm
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/sndwave.html
http://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Physics-High-School-Program/dp/0131663011/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305129622&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Physics-High-School-Program/dp/0131663011/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305129622&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Conceptual-Physics-High-School-Program/dp/0131663011/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1305129622&sr=8-2
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